Comfort in the Darkness
by it's just me
Summary: Some time after Frodo and Sam leave the fellowship, Sam breaks down.


Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.  
  
Author notes: This is my first posted fanfic, but hopefully not my last. Please review and let me know what I did wrong/right.  
  
Story notes: This takes place sometime after the fellowship breaks, but before Sam and Frodo meet up with Gollum. I meant this to be taken as fan fic for the book, but if you've only seen the movie (grr! Read the book!) it should still make sense.  
  
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Frodo could feel the sobs before he could hear them in his restless sleep. It came on the edges of his dark dreams, and pulled him into the waking world, whose darkness rivaled that of his nightmares. Somewhere between sleep and waking, before he was able to comprehend the sound, the emotion of this animal lamentation reached the core of his soul.  
  
Frodo burst into wakefulness with the awareness that the crying was coming from his closest companion and trusted friend, Samwise Gamgee. At that Frodo could feel the edges of his heart begin to crumble, as he sought out his friend.  
  
Sitting up, Frodo waited for his eyes to adjust to the painful darkness of the moonless night. At last, Frodo could see the silhouette of a figure crouched just outside the hollow in which the companions had stopped to rest. Sam was curled in a tight ball, his forehead resting on his knees, which he drew tightly up to his chest. His arms completed this pitiful pose, held tightly around him, as if afraid that the night might claim some part of him. His body shook as the sobs washed over him, rendering him helpless to their overwhelming power.  
  
Sam did not seem to notice that he was no longer alone in his wakefulness, and Frodo was left with the task of bringing his friend back to awareness.  
  
"Sam?" He barely whispered the hobbits name, but it was enough to send Sam in a frenzy to reclaim control. He choked back his sob, released his tightly coiled limbs, and spun around to face his master. Wiping his eyes with his sleeve, he said in a voice weakened by tears, "I-I thought you were--- asleep, Mr. Frodo. I didn't mean to wake you, sir."  
  
Frodo looked upon Sam with an overpowering need to stop his tears. Unsure of what course of action to take, he merely looked at the frightened, tearful gardener from Bagshot Row. Finally he opened his arms and gestured towards Sam. "Come here, Sam."  
  
Sam, who had been squirming under Frodo's gaze, quite embarrassed to have been caught crying like a hobbit-child, gave in to his instincts and crawled to where Frodo was sitting. There, he collapsed into his friend's arms, and allowed a sob to break free as he let Frodo sooth him with words and gentle hands.  
  
Frodo leaned back slowly against the sloped rock wall behind him. He held Sam close to him, pressing Sam's head against his chest. Smoothing Sam's hair with loving hands, Frodo whispered to his friend. "Shh-- it's alright Sam. Nothing's going to happen. I'm here."  
  
At last, Sam's breathing became constant as the crying subsided. Emotional conflict somewhat resolved, Frodo began to wonder what exactly had prompted his friend's heart wrenching tears. Sam had always been sensitive, crying at nothing and everything. However, Frodo couldn't help but feel that this time Sam's emotions were not brought on by something petty.  
  
"Sam?" His curiosity got the better of him as Frodo decided to seek out an answer. He could feel Sam stir in the darkness, reaching his hand up to his face to wipe away silent tears before he answered. "Yes, Mr. Frodo?"  
  
Frodo took a breath before he continued. "Do you mind--- I mean, could I ask--- what's wrong, Sam?" Sam shifted in Frodo's arms, allowing himself to be held tightly and comforted. After a moment, he slowly answered. "Well, Mr. Frodo, as far as I can figure, it's just everything that's been bouncing around inside of me has all decided to pop at once, if you like." Frodo thought guiltily back to the past few nights, and remembered how he had greedily slept most of the night, leaving Sam to keep guard. With a start, a question began to form in Frodo's mind, and before he knew it he vocalized it without thought. "When was the last time you slept, Sam?"  
  
Sam felt new tears of weariness spring to his eyes. Fighting them back, he answered. "I can't rightly say." At that, the dam inside of Sam broke, and weariness pushed all his emotions out. Without censoring himself, Sam spoke of all his troubles in one long stream, slowed only by tears.  
  
"I'm just so worried about you, and the ring, and the others, wherever they may be, and I can't stop thinking about how Gandalf died so horribly, and I know that Gollum is still out there somewhere, and I'm worried about Bill, and the Shire, and my Gaffer, and Rosie, and this darkness is so disheartening, it could make any creature rethink his course, and, sir, I worry about you especially, and it breaks my heart, sir, it truly does!" Exhausted, Sam released the tension that had built in his muscles as the poured his heart out to Frodo. Quietly, he let the tears take him again, and he was reduced to whimpering against Frodo's chest.  
  
"Oh, Sam." Pity and understanding laced Frodo's voice as he struggled for something to say, but couldn't. Instead, he resolved to let Sam cry into his shirt, holding him all the while.  
  
At last the rise and fall of Frodo's chest helped to calm Sam, and he was able once again to master the tears. Once again, he spoke his thoughts to Frodo, without inhibitions. "I think that somehow my heart got tied to you, Mr. Frodo, and it will always be somewhere outside of my control, with you. And I know that if anything were to happen to you, my heart would die."  
  
Frodo was shocked to hear his friend speak in such a dark manner, but Sam took his silence as a cue to continue. "And every time I see that look in your eyes, that hurt that this ring fills you with, I feel it too. And my heart gets heavy. And I'm afraid for you and I'm afraid for my heart, because I know that there's nothing I can do to protect it."  
  
Finally the right words found Frodo, and he knew what his own heart knew. Taking Sam's hand in his, he whispered as Sam pulled away to look into his eyes. "I will protect your heart, Sam."  
  
Satisfied with this answer, Sam returned to the gentle embrace of his friend, and allowed his eyes to flutter closed. Frodo softly brushed the residual tears from Sam's cheeks, and then, kissing the sleeping form on the forehead, he watched the darkness of the world around him, and listened to the soft breathing of Sam's slumber.  
  
~Me 


End file.
